MANILA, Philippines - How do you raise awareness for a cause without the accompanying self-rewarding promotion? This is an issue that comes up every time post-typhoon relief operations are in full swing — and more recently, in response to the widespread ALS ice bucket challenge. Even with Miley Cyrus’s stunt at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, it didn’t escape public notice how this was a good turnaround for her image. Having 22-year-old Jesse Helt collect her award on behalf of the homeless youth in the US was clearly the polar opposite of how she twerked all over Robin Thicke last year. This time she yet again shocked fans — but for all the right reasons. She looked all grown-up and ready to pay it forward (until reports about Helt being a wanted man were unearthed, making things a bit awkward).
Nevertheless, in an age where gimmickry, marketing and image building are rampant, even on the pedestrian level, public declarations of helping out are usually met with cynical backlash. When people take to social media to advertise their social consciences, you can expect the moral guardians of the sphere to step in and tell everyone, “If you want to help, just help.” Or in more relevant terms, “Stop dumping ice on your head. Just give money.”
Tired self-righteousness
Aside from how such tired self-righteousness can be more annoying than the harmless squealing and shuddering of late, if it weren’t for all these people dumping ice water on their heads, I wouldn’t even be aware that there was such a thing as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis disease, and ongoing research for a possible cure. In short, it worked, raising $1.35 million in the past two weeks, while Miley’s tearful VMA scene brought in $200,000 in 24 hours to her chosen organization, My Friend’s Place. I highly doubt that a stick-to-the-facts campaign, or going silently about one’s donations would have been as effective.
It is also true that in the business of raising awareness, you will always get people who are just being KSP, pakitang tao, or hopping on the bandwagon just for the fun of it. However, I don’t see how this escapes the domain of their personal issues. I know what it’s like to post something and hope that people like it. And as far as I’m aware, I’m not the only one who’s subjected to the subsequent psychological torture or waves of self-importance, depending on the (non)reaction I get. Aside from any fleeting reactions, it is never really the world’s concern. And it is one of the biggest ironies that people who swoop in for the buzzkill, telling us to focus only on what’s important, do so by making a big deal out of something benign. Eh ano ngayong kung gusto niyang magpasikat? Problema niya ’yon. Besides, when you’re on a mission to bring a cause to the foreground of people’s consciousness, it’s not the best time to be micromanaging the intentions of Instagram users all over the world. It is the time to take the help you can get, in whatever form it comes in.
We live in a fast-paced world, with our own priorities, personal tragedies, and countless diseases and societal and environmental problems going on at any moment. I’m thinking it will usually take something frivolous and perhaps ego indulging to effectively turn all our attentions to one aspect of reality that needs to be worked on. I don’t feel warm and fuzzy about the idea, but if it works it works. Insisting on nobler means just to feel you’re being noble is probably just as self-serving anyway.
Look at the bigger picture
This is not to say that criticism doesn’t have its place in the equation. When the cause gets lost in the fun, it is right to remind people of why you are collectively chilling yourselves to the bone; that there is real suffering beyond the silly packaging that you are currently enjoying. It is also helpful to remind people to do their own research with regards to the organizations involved, how your money is going to be spent, and what other causes may also be in dire need of support. What’s important to consider is whether or not your criticism actually brings forth something beneficial. Not all points need to be made. Not all intentions need to be searched. Not all problems are actual problems. As my friend, Ricky put it, “The annoyances you have are just annoyances. Look at the bigger picture.”
Perhaps a good analogy would be how Chuck, another friend of mine, has been using his advertising job to make good music, tell stories, and impart inspiring ideas. “Yeah, it’s a f*cking sugary drink,” he says of a product he wrote a TV ad for. “But it’s also a vehicle for dreams, ambitions, hope, change.”
This can be applied to our selfie culture, on which many causes have ridden so far. Too many people obsess over whether or not they agree with the vehicle, when they don’t even have to buy it. You can just listen to the substance of what is being said. See if there’s anything in there that you want to take in or contribute to, and then thank the vehicle for bringing it to you anyway.
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